Study Reveals The Truth Behind Why Couples Cheat

It is safe to say that relationships are more likely to be stable when both partners contribute economically. That’s because if you depend on your partner for your basic financial needs, it might spell trouble for your relationship, as new research shows that both men and women are more likely to cheat on their partners when […]

It is safe to say that relationships are more likely to be stable when both partners contribute economically. That’s because if you depend on your partner for your basic financial needs, it might spell trouble for your relationship, as new research shows that both men and women are more likely to cheat on their partners when they’re financially dependent on them.

The researchers found that while there’s a 5 percent chance that women who are financially dependent on their husbands will cheat, the likelihood of infidelity jumps to 15 percent when men are financially dependent on their wives.

Reasons

1. Men often struggle with being financial dependent. The people who were most likely to cheat were men who were 100 percent financially dependent on their partners.

This probably has something to do with stereotypes about masculinity, the study suggested.

“There is something about masculinity and cultural norms about breadwinning that make men especially unhappy in these kinds of financial situations, and infidelity may be a way of reasserting threatened masculinity.

Finding himself in a non-to-low income producing role in a household tends to be a blow to men’s egos.

2. But breadwinners cheat, too. The findings also shed light on the cheating habits of financial providers.

The greater a woman’s earnings, the less likely she is to cheat. In fact, women who are responsible for 100 percent of the earnings in the marriage are the least likely to have affairs.

But this isn’t the case with men. When men make more than 70 percent of the household income, they again become more likely to cheat. However, according to the findings, the chances of men engaging in infidelity when they make significantly more than their wives is “relatively small” compared to the increased likelihood of cheating that occurs when men become financially dependent.

HINT: To minimise the risk of infidelity in your relationship, make sure you earn as much as your partner.

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